WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Chicago could be the next city the federal government targets in its crime crackdown, following several days of action in Washington, D.C.
Speaking to reporters at the White House Oval Office, Trump said that the capital city is becoming "one of the safest places anywhere on Earth," noting that his administration will go to other cities to tackle crime afterward.
Chicago "will be our next one after this," said the president.
When Trump announced at a White House press conference on Aug. 11 that he was deploying the National Guard to assist in restoring law and order and public safety in D.C., he also cited Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore and Oakland as troubled cities -- all Democratic-led cities.
More than 1,900 troops from multiple states have been called up as part of the mission including from West Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee National Guards, said a release from Joint Task Force - DC on Thursday.
Trump visited law enforcement officers and National Guard troops in Southeast D.C. on Thursday, renewing his vow to launch similar crime crackdowns in other cities.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered National Guard members patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C. to begin carrying their service weapons, CNN cited a U.S. defense official as saying Friday.
"The directive from Hegseth represents a notable shift in guidance from the Pentagon, which had previously indicated that National Guard members could be armed if the circumstances warranted," the report said.
Early Friday, Trump attacked Muriel Bowser, mayor of Washington, D.C. on social media platform Truth Social, saying that "Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City!"
Trump described crime in Washington, D.C. as "out of control" and declared a "crime emergency" in the city on Aug. 11. In response, Bowser said crime is not only down from 2023 but also from 2019, noting that "we're at a 30-year low in violent crime." ■